Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations

First Edition: August 14, 2017

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.

Kaiser Health News:
Climbing Cost Of Decades-Old Drugs Threatens To Break Medicaid Bank
Skyrocketing price tags for new drugs to treat rare diseases have stoked outrage nationwide. But hundreds of old, commonly used drugs cost the Medicaid program billions of extra dollars in 2016 vs. 2015, a Kaiser Health News data analysis shows. ... Rising costs for 313 brand-name drugs lifted Medicaid’s spending by as much as $3.2 billion in 2016, the analysis shows. Nine of these brand-name drugs have been on the market since before 1970. In addition, the data reveal that Medicaid outlays for 67 generics and other non-branded drugs cost taxpayers an extra $258 million last year. (Lupkin, 8/14)

Kaiser Health News:
End-Of-Life Advice: More Than 500,000 Chat On Medicare’s Dime
The 90-year-old woman in the San Diego-area nursing home was quite clear, said Dr. Karl Steinberg. She didn’t want aggressive measures to prolong her life. If her heart stopped, she didn’t want CPR. But when Steinberg, a palliative care physician, relayed those wishes to the woman’s daughter, the younger woman would have none of it. ... Steinberg used an increasingly popular tool to resolve the impasse last month. He brought mother and daughter together for an advance-care planning session, an end-of-life consultation that’s now being paid for by Medicare. In 2016, the first year health care providers were allowed to bill for the service, nearly 575,000 Medicare beneficiaries took part in the conversations, new federal data obtained by Kaiser Health News show. (Aleccia, 8/14)

The Wall Street Journal:
Rural America’s Childbirth Crisis: The Fight to Save Whitney Brown
Since the start of the century, it has become more dangerous to have a baby in rural America. Pregnancy-related complications are rising across the U.S., and many require specialized care. For some women, the time and distance from hospitals with the resources and specialists to handle an obstetric emergency can be fatal. The rate at which women died of pregnancy-related complications was 64% higher in rural areas than in large U.S. cities in 2015. That is a switch from 2000, when the rate in the cities was higher, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data analyzed by The Wall Street Journal. (McKay and Overberg, 8/11)

The New York Times:
Health Insurers Get More Time To Calculate Increases For 2018
The Trump administration is giving health insurance companies more time to calculate price increases for 2018 because of uncertainty caused by the president’s threat to cut off crucial subsidies paid to insurers on behalf of millions of low-income people. Federal health officials said the deadline for insurers to file their rate requests would be extended by nearly three weeks, to Sept. 5. (Pear, 8/13)

The Associated Press:
A Stronger Medicaid Emerges From GOP Health Overhaul Debate
Medicaid, a 1960s Great Society pillar long reviled by conservatives, seems to have emerged even stronger after the Republican failure to pass health overhaul legislation. The federal-state health insurance program for low-income Americans hasn’t achieved the status of Social Security and Medicare, considered practically untouchable by politicians, like an electrified “third rail.” But it has grown to cover about 1 in 5 U.S. residents, ranging from newborns to Alzheimer’s patients in nursing homes, and even young adults trying to shake addiction. ... Increased participation — and acceptance — means any new GOP attempt to address problems with the Affordable Care Act would be unlikely to achieve deep Medicaid cuts. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 8/14)

Politico:
How The Trump Administration Is Spending Millions To Shore Up Obamacare
President Donald Trump has threatened to blow up Obamacare. But his own administration is separately dangling hundreds of millions of dollars before states to bail out their insurance markets. Alaska will get $323 million over the next five years to coax its lone Obamacare insurer to remain in the market and hold down premiums. At least four other states, including some that have vociferously opposed the Affordable Care Act, are seeking similar deals. ... The White House said Thursday it applauds the stabilization efforts even as Trump steps up the pressure on the Senate to resume efforts to try to pass legislation to repeal and replace Obamacare. (Pradhan, 8/13)

The Associated Press:
Health Care Divide Leaves Tax On Path To Reinstatement
The industry that makes medical devices from artificial hips to miniature pumps for IV drips is looking for a fallback plan to repeal a widely reviled sales tax that almost met its end in GOP health care legislation. The 2.3 percent excise, one of several taxes and fees in the Affordable Care Act that pay for expanded insurance coverage, has been the subject of ferocious lobbying by manufacturers seeking its permanent death. Yet for now it's on track to be reinstated on Jan. 1 after a two-year hiatus, leaving industry leaders worried it will hurt employment and stifle development of innovative, even lifesaving products. (Salsberg, 8/13)

The Associated Press:
Democratic Attorneys Escalate Legal Fight Against Trump
[A]n emboldened coalition of Democratic state attorneys general has unleashed a torrent of lower-profile litigation they argue is necessary to protect public health, the environment and consumers from a Republican White House. State attorneys from Massachusetts to New York to California, often working together, have brought more than 40 legal actions against the Trump administration over the last seven months. The pace, which both parties describe as unprecedented, has produced an average of one lawsuit or legal motion every five days since Trump’s inauguration, not including many more letters, legal threats and formal comments to federal agencies. (Peoples, 8/13)

The Washington Post:
At Raucous Town Halls, Republicans Have Faced Another Round Of Anger Over Health Care
The long August congressional recess, which Republicans had hoped would begin a conversation about tax reform and must-pass budget measures, has so far seen another round of angry town halls focused on President Trump and the stalled effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Over just one day, in three small towns along Georgia’s Atlantic coastline, Rep. Earl L. “Buddy” Carter (R-Ga.) spent more than four hours answering 74 questions, many of them heated. Just three focused on tax reform; nearly half were about health care. (Weigel, 8/11)

The Washington Post:
House Conservatives Hope To Revive Obamacare Repeal Vote
Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus want to seize control of the health-care debate by petitioning Republicans to hold a vote on a version of a repeal bill that passed the House in 2015. Conservatives say they believe a repeal measure can pass without a replacement, despite warnings from Ryan and other leaders that the votes aren’t there. The long-shot effort gained momentum last week with support from influential outside groups. (Snell, 8/13)

The Associated Press:
Graham Says GOP In Trouble If Obama’s Health Care Law Stands
A GOP senator says all Republicans are in trouble politically if they’re unable to scrap former President Barack Obama’s health care law and replace it with a better one. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina says he doesn’t mind that President Donald Trump is upset with Republicans for failing to fulfill their seven-year-old pledge on a health overhaul. (8/13)

The Associated Press:
Trump’s Verbal Shots Against McConnell Complicate His Agenda
Donald Trump’s attacks on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell come at the worst possible time, if the president’s goal is actually to advance his agenda on health care, infrastructure and taxes that he’s goading his GOP ally to pass. ... McConnell’s allies say that Trump’s frustration over the failure on health care is shared by the majority leader. (Taylor, 8/12)

The Associated Press:
Anthem To Stop Selling Individual Plans In Much Of Virginia
A third insurance company said Friday that it will stop offering individual health insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act next year in Virginia, citing in part the uncertainty in Washington as lawmakers debate the future of the health care law. Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield said in a statement that the decision was based on the shrinking individual market and “continual changes and uncertainty” in the operation, rules and guidance of the law. (Finley, 8/11)

The Associated Press:
Montana’s Health Co-Op Remains Standing As Others Falter
The Montana Health Co-op resumes accepting new enrollees on Sunday after withdrawing from the state’s health insurance exchange last year amid worries about its financial health. Chief Executive Officer Jerry Dworak asserts that the co-op is in position to absorb all 64, 000 Montanans who buy policies from the state’s health insurance exchange. (Calvan, 8/12)

Politico:
Trump Aides Predicting 'Brutal' September
Senior officials have described the coming month as "brutal," “bad” or “really tough” because of the confluence of complicated issues — but they also say it’s pivotal to getting the presidency back on course. Aides hope to have a better blueprint for how the president wants to proceed on a series of thorny issues — the nation’s debt ceiling, the 2018 federal budget, tax reform, infrastructure spending and perhaps another stab at repealing Obamacare — after a series of meetings in New York this week. (Dawsey, 8/13)

The Associated Press:
Democrats Use Bus Tour To Criticize GOP Health Care Vote
Democrats used a bus emblazoned with the words “Drive for our Lives” to gin up opposition to vulnerable House Republicans who voted against “Obamacare” with the aim of upending the GOP’s majority in next year’s midterm elections. The vote to repeal and replace the Obama health care law looms large for 21 GOP lawmakers, including Iowa Reps. David Young and Rod Blum. They represent competitive congressional districts where Democrat Hillary Clinton won or came close in last year’s presidential election. (Beaumont, 8/12)

The Associated Press:
Trump Signs Bill To Fund Veterans Medical Care Program
President Donald Trump has signed an emergency spending bill that will pump more than $2 billion into a program that allows veterans to receive private medical care at government expense. ... The bill, which addresses a budget shortfall at the Department of Veteran Affairs that threatened medical care for thousands of veterans, provides $2.1 billion to continue funding the Veterans Choice Program, which allows veterans to seek private care. (Lemire, 8/12)

The Associated Press:
Texas Senate OKs Restricting Insurance Coverage For Abortion
The Republican-controlled Texas Senate backed a plan Saturday night to restrict insurance coverage for abortions, over the objections of opponents who expressed concern it could force some women to make heart-wrenching choices because no exceptions will be made in cases of rape and incest. The 20-10 party-line vote for preliminary approval requires women to purchase extra insurance to cover abortions except amid medical emergencies. (Weissert and Crary, 8/13)

The Washington Post:
Pregnant Women Addicted To Opioids Face Tough Choices, Fear Treatment Can Lead To Separation And Harm
As the nation’s opioid crisis has deepened, the number of drug treatment centers for pregnant women has grown. But experts and advocates say there aren’t enough services for pregnant women to meet the demand, and many don’t offer the drugs doctors would normally use to treat addiction because they are concerned about the effects they might have on a fetus. And some laws requiring that babies going through withdrawal be removed from their mother’s care can be a deterrent to seeking help, they said. (Ockerman, 8/13)

The New York Times:
A Cancer Conundrum: Too Many Drug Trials, Too Few Patients
With the arrival of two revolutionary treatment strategies, immunotherapy and personalized medicine, cancer researchers have found new hope — and a problem that is perhaps unprecedented in medical research. There are too many experimental cancer drugs in too many clinical trials, and not enough patients to test them on. The logjam is caused partly by companies hoping to rush profitable new cancer drugs to market, and partly by the nature of these therapies, which can be spectacularly effective but only in select patients. (Kolata, 8/12)

The New York Times:
The Brain Cancer That Keeps Killing Baseball Players
Since Darren Daulton succumbed to brain cancer on Aug. 6, heartfelt tributes have honored the way he led a raucous Phillies team to the World Series in 1993.
And unanswered questions have surfaced about the way he died. Daulton and several prominent contemporaries in baseball — including at least three other Phillies who played at Veterans Stadium, the team’s home from 1971 to 2003 — have died of glioblastoma, according to news media accounts. It is considered the most aggressive and frequently diagnosed form of malignant brain tumor. Researchers who have examined the baseball cases for years say there is insufficient evidence to determine whether they represent anything more than coincidence. Possible cancer clusters are notoriously hard to prove. (Longman, 8/14)

Los Angeles Times:
Despite California's Strict New Law, Hundreds Of Schools Still Don't Have Enough Vaccinated Kids
Even with a new law that has boosted kindergarten vaccination rates to record highs, hundreds of schools across California still have so many children lacking full immunization that they pose an increased risk of disease outbreaks, according to a Times analysis of state data. At nearly 750 schools, 90% or fewer kindergartners had been fully vaccinated last year, the analysis found. Experts say the rate should be at least 95% to prevent the spread of highly contagious diseases such as measles. (Karlamangla and Poindexter, 8/13)

NPR:
You Can Order A Dozen STD Tests Online — But Should You?
Cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis all hit record-high numbers in 2015. Tens of thousands contract HIV every year in the U.S., and oral cancers caused by human papillomavirus are increasing.
So startups are popping up online to help serve what they see as unmet demand for STD testing. ... The question is whether those companies can survive — at least one left the market before its product even launched — and whether the services they offer get the right tests to the right people. (Haelle, 8/13)

The Washington Post:
Babies With A Rare, Severe Form Of Epilepsy Depend On This Drug. The Maker Stopped Selling It.
The medicine has had a powerful effect. Seizures that once struck multiple times an hour now come once every five or six days. But the drug came with a deadline: At the end of June, GlaxoSmithKline, the British drug company that sells Potiga, pulled it off the market because of declining sales, forcing families to stockpile supplies or wean their children off a drug that dramatically improved their quality of life. The dilemma faced by parents whose children benefited from Potiga — and future families who potentially may never have access to the drug — highlights the limitations of drug companies’ business model. (Johnson, 8/11)

Los Angeles Times:
Americans Want A Say In Human Genome Editing, Survey Shows
Just last week, scientists reported a new first in the journal Nature: They edited heritable cells in human embryos to treat an inherited form of heart disease. The day after the research was published, a group of genetics experts published a statement calling for further debate before applications of the technology are taken any further in humans. According to a new survey of 1,600 adults published in the journal Science today, much of the American public shares this desire for engagement in decision-making. (Abed, 8/11)

Politico:
The Doctor Will Analyze You Now
In part because of their Alaska Native heritage, which puts a high value on spiritual health, the leaders of Southcentral recognized decades ago that behavioral health is tightly linked with bodily health. So they became one of the early adopters of integrated care. They embedded treatment for mental and emotional ills in their primary care practices, and found that patient satisfaction rates skyrocketed and usage of medical care went down, saving millions of dollars while improving patient outcomes. In the nearly 30 years since Southcentral hired its first psychologist, pretty much every study has shown that integrating mental health care into medical care results in better patient outcomes and lower costs. (Silberner, 8/9)